On a self-publishing platform that gives everybody a voice, President Obama's former speechwriter, Jon Favreau, says we may be wasting our collective breath. "We've now spent a week re-litigating the wisdom of vaccines, the Crusades, and Brian Williams' memory," he tweeted. "No wonder we never get shit done."
We've now spent a week re-litigating the wisdom of vaccines, the Crusades, and Brian Williams' memory. No wonder we never get shit done.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) February 6, 2015
Funny tweet, a cheeky take on two Republican-related controversies and a third one generated by the ego of NBC anchor Brian Williams. I retweeted and "favorited" Favreau for mocking the Outrage Machine—a new media-fed industry of inflated and manufactured controversies. Wanted: Eyeballs and clicks. No context or objectivity required.
Two GOP presidential hopefuls giving credence to the discredited anti-vaccination movement. Obama clumsily comparing Islamic extremist to medieval Christian crusaders. A news anchor embellishing his experiences as a journalist. These are legitimate news stories, not signs of the Apocalypse, and yet the coverage has an End Times vibe.
Ebola, Ferguson, Ukraine, and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Bridgegate and Benghazi, the IRS, the NSA, The Interview and campus rape. The Islamic State is a "JV squad," and "you will be able to keep your doctor."